Since Pope Paul VI proclaimed January 1 a “World Day of Peace” in 1967, popes have issued statements for peace for that day. On December 8, in this most perilous of times, Pope Francis published the fiftieth World Day of Peace declaration for 2017, catching the church and the world by surprise with its call for nonviolence, never before so forcefully stated as an imperative rather than a personal option for some.
The title of the pope’s message, “Nonviolence: A Style of Politics for Peace,” presents nonviolence as a practical political program, not only for spiritual growth and personal relationships but also as the way that nations need to govern themselves and as the basis for international relations: “we know that this ‘piecemeal’ violence, of different kinds and levels, causes great suffering: wars in different countries and continents; terrorism, organized crime and unforeseen acts of violence; the abuses suffered by migrants and victims of human trafficking; and the devastation of the environment. Where does this lead? Can violence achieve any goal of lasting value? Or does it merely lead to retaliation and a cycle of deadly conflicts that benefit only a few ‘warlords’?”
Ron Rolheiser, a Catholic priest and theologian who writes a popular column on spirituality and ethics, addressed the question, “So how realistic is it to refuse to arm ourselves? How realistic is it to pray to be disarmed?” in a column last June 20, “Of Guns and…